Not FITting in

Cancer screening was something of a lightning rod for controversy in 2018, particularly after the NHS and Public Health England unearthed what they thought was a major crisis in their breast screening programme.

If trial data is right, faecal testing should increase the rate at which people take part in screening. This, in turn, should mean the NHS diagnoses more cancers sooner, a priority of the long-term plan.

The national screening committee first said in 2015 that having FIT in England’s national screening programme would be a good idea. The government tried, but failed, to get the necessary kit and software in 2016. It had hoped a second procurement attempt would have borne fruit in time to start rolling out the new test in the autumn.

Alas, the contracts have yet to be completed and the diagnostic tools yet to be distributed, although NHS England is confident it will have everything signed and sealed by the end of the financial year.

The auditors are scrutinising programme governance and management, as well as IT systems, and will be reporting in “early 2019”. Sir Mike is looking into all aspects, and will be making recommendations for the NHS to overhaul their screening programmes.

Whether they cast eyes over FIT procurement remains to be seen, but screening controversies are unlikely to go away in the near future.

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